


settle our bones like wood over time

by madnessiseverything



Series: feline graces [1]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Animal Transformation, Family Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26251189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnessiseverything/pseuds/madnessiseverything
Summary: The one where the Pevensies are faced with some rather unexpected side-effects of being Narnia's rulers. If you ask Lucy, it is the best thing that could have possibly happened to them, right after finding Narnia itself.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Lucy Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Susan Pevensie
Series: feline graces [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972831
Comments: 42
Kudos: 178





	1. brave as a lioness

**Author's Note:**

> so this is something that's happened! my first narnia fic on ao3 after a month or so spent falling right into a hyperfixation spiral full of childhood nostalgia. most of this fic is already written, so updates will be quick! i might even have enough material to turn this into a series :P i hope you enjoy! 
> 
> (title from north by sleeping at last)

When Susan startles awake, she doesn’t immediately know why. It’s dark in her room, and she runs her hands over her face to wake up. Then she hears agonised screams from across the hall and is out of her room and in Lucy’s within the next breath. 

Her little sister is writhing in the bed, screaming her lungs out. Susan can’t see blood or injury, but the moonlight does little to help. There is no forced entry into the room, and she yells for the guards to get a healer immediately. She doesn’t tell them to get their brothers, she knows they can’t be far away. 

She climbs next to Lucy and tries to get her to calm down. Blood-shot eyes meet hers and Susan’s own sting. Lucy looks terrified. Susan hugs her little sister close, hands running over Lucy’s body in search for any harm done.

“Shh, shh, I’m here, Lu.” 

Lucy sobs, shaking in Susan’s arms. “It hurts,” she whimpers. Susan doesn’t know what’s going on. 

“What hurts?” She asks, but Lucy only screams again, flailing and kicking her legs out. The door slams against the wall. Peter and Edmund rush into the room, wide-eyed and dishevelled. Peter has Rhindon in his hand.

“What happened?” Edmund asks, already at the bedside while Peter drops Rhindon at the lack of enemies to slash at. 

“I don’t know,” responds Susan. Her voice is thick, the lump in her throat growing. 

“Make it stop!” Lucy begs, and Susan knows tears are spilling down her own cheeks. 

“Lucy, hey, Lu,” Peter is hovering over them now, trying to get into Lucy’s line of sight. Distantly, Susan notes that the room is slightly brighter. “We’re all here, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” 

Lucy cries, sobs stuttering in her chest as she tries to form words. “Everything hurts,” she manages to bite out. Susan pushes sweat-soaked hair out of Lucy’s face. Lucy’s eyes are shut tightly.

The healer, a dryad called Veris, arrives within the minute and surveys the scene with surprise. Susan only then registers that Edmund and Peter have climbed onto the bed as well, surrounding Lucy. She doesn’t want to let go of her, is terrified that letting go will somehow make things worse. 

“She says she’s in pain, I can’t find an injury,” Susan gets out. 

Veris moves closer, gently moving Edmund to the right to get to Lucy’s side. She pushes Susan’s hands away from Lucy’s face. “Hold her still,” she instructs. Susan wraps her arms around Lucy’s middle. Peter takes Lucy’s hands, and Edmund sits by her feet. 

Lucy is still crying, twisting in their hold. Veris’ expression gives nothing away. “Is this the first time this has happened?” She asks, voice flat but loud enough to hear over Lucy. 

“I’ve never seen her like this,” Peter answers for them all. 

The dryad hums and takes Lucy’s hands out of Peter’s grasp, twisting them this way and that. Lastly, she pries open Lucy’s mouth and Susan’s heart stutters. 

“Ah. There we go,” Veris says without surprise. Lucy’s teeth are sharp, too long for her mouth. 

“What’s happening to her?” Edmund asks, reaching out one hand and putting it on Susan’s shoulder. Susan thinks her heart might explode. Her chest feels too tight.

“I believe she’s experiencing some unique growing pains. I suggest we all get back and get ready to slam the door behind ourselves.” 

“What does that mean?” Susan asks, rather hysterical. She doesn’t like not knowing, and she definitely doesn’t want to leave Lucy’s side. 

“Her Majesty seems to be in the middle of her first transformation. I can’t quite pin down what precise kind, but I believe we will soon have a very confused animal on our hands.” 

“Transformation?” Peter asks and the healer nods. “What?” 

“Like a werewolf?” Edmund asks, and Susan wants to laugh. But this isn’t England, so the question isn’t as ridiculous as she wishes it to be. 

“Quite.” 

“Oh.” 

Peter pries Susan’s hands from Lucy. “Su, hey, we’ve got to move.” 

“No, she’s in pain, I- Pete.” Susan can’t bear it. Lucy cries out, and Susan pushes Peter away.

“There’s nothing we can do.” 

Susan wants to grab Peter and shake him. “How can you say that?!” 

“Su, please.” There is a pain in his plea, the same pain Susan feels wrapped tightly around her throat.

The world goes blurry, but Susan soon finds herself with her back towards the door, Peter and Edmund on either side of her. Veris stands between them and the bed, having asked the guards to send the word out for an expert. Lucy is still writhing, but Susan can now see the changes beginning to take place. 

“I suggest Your Majesties look away,” Veris tells them, and Susan understands, but her eyes are glued to her little sister. Lucy’s screams of pain pick up again, and her mouth is full of the pointed teeth of a predator. 

When the snapping of bones starts, Susan feels ill. She finally looks away and pulls Edmund into her. Edmund’s eyes are glassy. Susan backs them into Peter’s side. She feels Peter wrap his arm around them. She doesn’t dare move her eyes from the wall. 

Lucy’s screams grow deeper, change into noises Susan knows can only be coming from an animal. Peter’s grip on her shoulder tightens and Susan doesn’t have to look at his face to realise he’s still looking. 

It feels like hours have passed when the horrible noises cease, but Susan thinks it can’t have been more than a few minutes. She turns her head and gasps. Next to her, Edmund grabs her hand. 

There is a lioness standing on Lucy’s bed, panting hard and shaking herself. Lucy’s sheets are torn up, and her nightgown is spread across the mattress in pieces. The lioness - Lucy, Susan realises, this is Lucy - looks at them and doesn’t move. 

“Huh,” Veris says and turns to them. Her eyes shine, and there is immense awe on her face. 

“Lucy?” Peter asks, his voice shaky. The lioness that is their little sister perks up and hops down from the bed. Susan stops herself from tugging Peter back when he takes a step towards Lucy. This isn’t a wild animal, she reminds herself. This is Lucy, their baby sister, she won’t hurt them. This is a Narnian. It doesn’t stop Susan’s heart from trying to leap out of her chest.

Lucy pads up to Peter with care. Peter stretches out his hand and waits. Susan feels her hand tighten around Edmund’s. Lucy gently pushes her head into Peter’s hand before she straightens up and throws herself against him. Peter lets out a grunt and hits the floor, Lucy sprawled across him. Then Lucy pushes her nose against his, and Peter laughs. 

The sound seems to break the spell of fear within the room. Susan falls on her knees next to her siblings, stroking hesitant hands over Lucy’s fur. Lucy rumbles and knocks her head into her older siblings again and again.

“Can these kinds of weres not talk?” Edmund asks Veris, who remains at the door with a gentle smile. 

“The ones I’ve met could, but I’ve never encountered this sort of thing before. I don’t know much about were development. I’ve sent for an expert.” 

“Thank you, Veris,” Peter says from his spot underneath Lucy’s paws. “You were a great help.” 

“Of course, Your Majesty. I will leave you to it, but will remain just outside should there be trouble.” Veris bows and sweeps out of the room, gently closing the door. 

Susan drops her head against Lucy’s side and exhales. Edmund, with his hands busy scratching under Lucy’s chin, shakes his head fondly. “What a way to scare the life out of us, Lu.” 

Lucy huffs, turning her head and gently licking at Susan’s cheek. Susan looks up and thinks she sees an apology in the dark eyes. She smiles tiredly. “It’s alright. None of us could have known.” 

Peter hums. “Aslan has a funny way of showing his blessings.” Lucy’s body starts vibrating, and she swats at Peter. Susan looks at their sister in contemplation. 

“Do you think that’s what this is?” 

“Well, I can’t imagine Lucy was this way in the other place,” Peter responds. “And she _is_ a lion.” 

“You love this, don’t you?” Edmund asks. Lucy thumps her head into his hands. “Oh, she is going to be insufferable.” 

They spend a few minutes in silence, taking in Lucy’s suddenly massive form. Peter manages to extract himself from underneath her and leans back on his hands. Susan feels him watching her. “I’m alright,” she reassures him. He squeezes her shoulder with a smile.

A thought strikes Susan. “How long is this meant to last?” Peter frowns. 

“I’ve no idea.” 

“Another question to ask this expert when they arrive. By Aslan, we’re not getting any sleep tonight. We’ll have to cancel tomorrow’s court.” Susan pushes her hair away from her face with a loud sigh.

Lucy, her head in Edmund’s lap, looks entirely too self-satisfied for Susan’s taste.

-

After that night, Lucy adapts rather quickly. She learns how to purposefully trigger the shift in two weeks, and knows how to manage the pain within the month. The appearances of a lioness at the breakfast table go from involuntary to entirely planned. Her brothers and sister stop being taken by surprise after a few days. She still can’t speak in her lioness form but doesn’t seem to mind, communicating just as well in either body. She takes to bounding across the yard and running with the other animals, laughing breathlessly once she’s back in her human body. She gushes to her siblings about how strong she feels, how freeing it all is. 

Aslan visits her while she’s running in the woods with the wolves and tells her she is doing wonderfully. Lucy has never felt more like she belongs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter).


	2. mighty as a jaguar

Edmund wakes to screams coming from Peter’s room. He finds Peter in much the same state as they found Lucy a few months ago when they first discovered her nature. His older brother is twisting in pain, sheets tangled around him. Edmund sighs heavily. “Not you too, Pete.” 

Susan and Lucy arrive with their guards, alarm evident on their faces. Lucy’s expression briefly changes into one of delight. The guards quickly withdraw again at Edmund’s request. 

“Oh, dear,” is all Susan says. Then Peter falls off the bed, and all of their faces turn grim. Edmund rushes forward to help Peter sit up. He sees Susan and Lucy settle down next to them. Peter’s hands are scratching at his own skin, tears of pain rolling down his face. Edmund and Susan are quick to try and get his hands away from him. 

Lucy’s hands flutter as if to take care of the scratches, but she stops herself. Peter writhes and knocks his elbow into Edmund’s face. Edmund reels back, and Peter is quick to go back to his attempts at taking off his skin. 

“Peter, stop!” Susan’s voice is full of tears. “Please!” 

“I have to make it stop!” Peter sobs in response. Edmund manages to get hold of his hand again. He wraps as much of his body as he can around it. “It hurts.” 

“We know,” Lucy says, her own hands restless before coming to rest on Peter’s leg. “It’ll be alright, Peter. It’s going to be over soon.”   
  
It isn’t. The time stretches on, Peter’s body not changing as his cries get hoarse with the effort. Edmund starts to fear that they’ve misjudged, that Peter isn’t going through the same transformation as Lucy after all and that something else is wrong. 

“I should shift,” Lucy says after Peter knocks the wind out of Susan with his struggling. “I can hold him down.” 

“No,” Susan shakes her head, adjusting her body. “We shouldn’t- I think he should be able to see that it’s us. He’s scared.” Edmund doesn’t know which idea he thinks is best, especially with Peter’s eyes screwed shut as they are. But Lucy deflates and nods, settling down to get a grip on Peter’s legs again. 

Edmund hates this. It feels like he is intruding; like this is something none of them should be witnessing. It wasn’t like this with Lucy, he thinks to himself. He wanted to be there for her. And he does for Peter, by Aslan he does, but the sight of their brother makes his heart seize in his chest. Neither of them is meant to see their king like this. 

Susan is muttering reassurances, her own tears mixing with Peter’s as she refuses to back away from him. Edmund could count on one hand the times he has seen Peter cry or beg, and never like this. It feels utterly wrong. Edmund can imagine the shame and guilt Peter will carry once he has his senses back. He swallows at the thought. 

Lucy is watching it all with a look much like the one Edmund imagines is on his face - a mixture of horror and grief. “He doesn’t look like himself at all,” she says, quiet enough that Edmund almost doesn’t catch it. “Was I like this?” 

“You were,” Susan says before Edmund can voice his thoughts. “It’s horrible.” Peter is shaking his head back and forth, sweat making his hair stick flat to his face. 

“It was different,” Edmund adds. “I can’t explain but-” Peter goes limp in their grip, chest heaving. Edmund takes the respite to lean his forehead against Peter’s temple. “It feels like we shouldn’t be here.” 

Lucy nods several times, eyes glistening. Susan brushes tears away from Peter’s face. “I think it’s because he so rarely lets us see him hurting.” 

“I wish you wouldn’t,” Lucy addresses Peter, who doesn’t respond. His body shakes. “High King or not, you’re allowed to be in pain.” 

Peter’s eyes open briefly. They’re glassy, and stare up at the ceiling without acknowledging his siblings. For a short while, the room seems entirely silent. Then Edmund feels the arm he is still holding onto twist in a very unusual way. He quickly lets go of it. “It’s starting!” 

“Finally,” Lucy breathes, and they quickly scramble away to give Peter room. Susan turns her head away. Lucy has an iron grip on Edmund’s hand. Edmund looks on as Peter’s body contorts. Their brother cries out again and throws his head back. Fangs flash. 

Edmund averts his gaze. Lucy looks up at him with amber eyes. Edmund can only imagine that she is pushing back against a shift by the way she clings to him. “It’s alright,” he says, almost drowned out by the sounds coming from Peter. Lucy nods and closes her eyes. 

“Oh, I wish it wouldn’t take this long,” Susan cries out as the sounds of their brother’s body changing anatomy continue. Edmund catches her slamming her hands over her ears out of the corner of his eye. 

At last, after what feels like yet another eternity, the room falls silent. Lucy is the first to turn around and lets out a gasp. “Oh! He’s not a lion!” 

Edmund is quick to turn around. In Peter’s place, there is a jaguar, curled up as if to make itself seem small. Edmund tugs on Susan’s arm. 

“Oh,” she says. Mirroring what Peter had done with Lucy, she steps forward. Edmund feels Lucy let go of his hand. “Peter?”

The jaguar flinches where it lies, and Susan stops. Edmund freezes. Peter slowly uncurls but doesn’t move towards Susan. Instead, he seems to be backing away. “Oh Pete,” Edmund says, and their brother pushes himself into a corner. 

Lucy starts walking towards him. To their surprise and horror, Peter hisses. Edmund can see his sisters go as tense as he feels. “Peter?” Susan asks, her voice shaky. 

“He’s still scared,” Lucy explains, voice low. 

“Oh! We should-” Susan cuts herself off. Edmund watches as she kneels where she is. Recognising the movement, he carefully lowers himself as well. Lucy sits down and crosses her legs. 

“It’s okay, Peter,” she says, “take your time.” Edmund briefly touches Susan’s shoulder in appreciation. She throws a quick nod his way. 

Lucy rolls her shoulders. “I want to shift,” she mumbles, but clenches her fists on her knees and stays human. 

“Just a few more minutes,” Susan responds. Edmund puts his hands in his lap and breathes. He can’t deny that he feels a bit hurt at the realisation that Peter doesn’t want them near him, but he squashes it down. He can’t even imagine the fear their brother must be feeling. Besides, Edmund reminds himself, Susan is right. Peter always puts on a brave face. He thinks again of the shame he knows must be consuming the older boy right now.

After half an hour, Peter seems to have relaxed somewhat. Lucy mentions the way rooms always seem smaller in her other form. They don’t open the door, for fear that Peter will bolt, but Edmund opens the windows to give an illusion of openness. He and the girls stay seated on the floor, waiting for Peter to come to them. Several minutes pass. Then, finally, Peter slinks over to them and lies down in the space between each sibling. He gives off a quiet whine. His chest is still moving quickly, breathing not quite back to normal. Edmund runs careful hands over his brother’s head over and over again, Susan resumes her reassurances. When the sky starts turning light outside, Peter is calm. Lucy wastes no more time and shifts. The lioness presses herself against the jaguar, and Peter rumbles in what Edmund can only assume is contentment.

Edmund and Susan share a fond glance and huddle closer to their feline siblings. Their bodies are warm and soft. Edmund feels the exhaustion of the night catching up to him quickly. He feels Peter curl around him and smiles. Susan mutters something about the court, but Edmund is far too tired to listen. 

-

Peter doesn’t master the shift quite as fast as Lucy did. He tells them that he struggles to return to the human form and worries that he won’t be able to fulfil his duties. He doesn’t shift as randomly as Lucy did in her first month, only losing control once when he was stressed and a few times due to exhaustion. But as time goes on, he finds his equilibrium and starts shifting quicker between forms. Lucy makes him go on runs with her, and when afterwards he quietly admits to feeling free, Lucy hugs him. Edmund and Susan talk amongst themselves about their hopes that this doesn’t add onto Peter’s burdens but helps relieve them instead. Edmund mentions his fears about Peter’s guilt. They agree to keep an eye on him, just in case. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: a video i watched called jaguars "the giant slayers".
> 
> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter). feel free to drop by and talk about either this fic, the pevensies, or whatever else, i love chatting to ppl :D


	3. agile as a leopard

They’re halfway through dinner about a month later when Edmund pushes away from the table suddenly. His cutlery clutters to the ground. Lucy startles and spills her drink down her dress. She looks over to find Edmund doubled over on the floor.

“Ed?” Peter is out of his chair already, and Lucy hastily sets down her cup to rush to Edmund’s side. “Ed, what’s wrong?” 

Edmund groans and Lucy’s hand goes to her belt only to find it empty. Of course, this was dinner, she doesn't carry the cordial this casually. “Edmund, talk to us,” Susan says from Lucy’s right. 

“Hurts. Like- like tearing,” Edmund bites out between noises of pain and Lucy’s heart jumps against her ribs. 

“Oh! Oh, Edmund, you’re turning!” She can’t hide the excitement in her voice, the idea of Edmund also being like her and Peter simply too wonderful. Edmund doesn’t lift his head and curls further into himself. 

“We’ve got to get you to your room,” Susan says. Peter is already grabbing hold of Edmund, hoisting him up in his arms. Edmund screams, and Lucy feels her excitement leaving and get replaced with worry. She scrambles to her feet.

“It’ll be alright, Ed,” she says as she briefly catches hold of his flailing hand. Edmund’s face is white as a sheet. Lucy swallows and focuses on the hallway. She hates how her cordial can do nothing for him, no injury or sickness there to heal. All they can do is wait. She rushes to keep pace with Peter striding towards their rooms. 

“I will be with you shortly,” Susan says and disappears, likely to inform their staff. Lucy pushes her hand against her chest, her heart thumping wildly with adrenaline. Steady, she tells herself. Steady. 

She opens the door for her brothers, and hastily goes to open the windows as well, remembering Peter’s first transformation. Peter sets Edmund down on the bed. The younger boy immediately curls into himself. Whimpers of pain make Lucy’s eyes sting. Knowing that the result will be one of great joy does not make it easier to see her brother in distress. 

Peter arranges himself so that Edmund’s back is pressed against his chest. Lucy joins them, settling down next to Edmund’s feet. He hasn’t started struggling yet. Lucy can tell Peter is waiting for him to do so. 

Susan bursts into the room mere seconds later, closing the door behind her. “How is he?” She asks even as she climbs next to Lucy. Lucy reaches out to squeeze her hand. Susan always takes their pain the hardest, despite Lucy’s reassurances that the pain pales in comparison to their other form. 

Edmund’s noises of pain are quieter than those Peter made, and Lucy bites her lip. She wishes it would reassure her, but looking upon Edmund, she worries that he is trying hard to keep them locked away. His breath is coming harshly through his nose, and his lips are pressed into a thin white line. Lucy rests her hand on one of his knees. The material of his breeches is soft against her palm. A thought strikes her. 

“Oh! Should we help him out of his clothes? He likes them!” 

Susan gasps. “You’re right, Lu, we should at least get the more complicated things off. They can’t be comfortable.” Lucy and Peter’s transformations had been at night. While Lucy had felt rather bad about her destroyed nighty, it was nothing compared to their day clothes. 

Peter nods his head in acknowledgement and starts working on Edmund’s doublet. Lucy twists to take off Edmund’s boots. Edmund’s breathing becomes more laboured, and Lucy hears him cry out. 

“Pete, it hurts!” 

“I know,” comes Peter’s response and Lucy drops Edmund’s boots off the bed. Edmund is shaking now, tossing his head back and forth. Peter leans his head back to avoid him. Lucy places her hands on Edmund’s legs in anticipation. 

Edmund isn’t trying to claw at himself like Peter and for that Lucy is terribly grateful. The look of utter terror in his wide eyes is another matter, though, and she wants nothing more than to take the fear and pain away. Susan reaches out to get the collar of his tunic loose. “Breathe, Ed.” 

“I’m scared,” Edmund cries, and Lucy wants to cry with him. She doesn’t remember much of her first night, a haze of pain covering most details, but she can understand the fear. Lucy doesn’t let herself think of what nightmares and memories must be pressing in on Edmund’s mind right now. She drops her head forward against his shoulder briefly before pulling away. Edmund starts struggling in Peter’s grasp, tugging at the arms wrapped around his chest. 

A twitch on Peter’s face clues Lucy in. “Is it already starting?” 

“I think so, I felt-” Peter cuts himself off with a grimace. Edmund kicks his leg in Lucy’s grasp. 

“Let go, let go!” Edmund’s voice is hoarse, lower. Lucy hesitates, her grip still tight on his legs. Then she sees Peter untangle himself and follows his example. Susan is already a few steps away from the bed with her eyes averted. Lucy wraps her arms around her waist, and Susan embraces her in turn. They both sink to the floor.

On the bed, Edmund is twisting and screaming in earnest now, abandoning all composure. Lucy feels a shudder run across her body, something she has by now learned to recognise as her lioness trying to come out. She presses her head into Susan’s side and breathes through it. Not yet, she chastises herself. 

On a hunch, she removes her face from Susan and glances at Peter. Her intuition is rewarded when she sees Peter’s arms wrapped around himself as if physically holding everything in. Lucy removes one arm to tug him closer. He joins their huddle, and Lucy presses a relieved smile into Susan’s shoulder at the way Peter’s chest rumbles.

She doesn’t dare move her eyes to check up on Edmund, instead relying on the gradually quieting noises of the shift. It’s over quicker than Lucy had braced herself for, leaving the room to silence once more, and she turns her head. 

A leopard is pressed into the headboard of Edmund’s bed and Lucy just barely suppresses the noise that claws its way up her throat. She grins. 

“Hey Edmund,” she says with a laugh swinging in her voice. Instead of brown eyes, she finds green focusing on her. Edmund doesn’t move but doesn’t make himself smaller either. Lucy releases her grip on her other siblings. She doesn’t shift, not yet, but tugs at her dress in preparation. Susan seems to understand, because she feels hands at her back, loosening the laces. 

Next to her, Peter is slowly removing his doublet. Gradually, Edmund moves away from the headboard. Lucy exhales and with a laugh, pushes away from between Peter and Susan. She hardly registers the pain before she is standing nose to nose with Edmund, finding with great joy that she is  _ bigger than him _ . Edmund pushes his head forward with curiosity. Lucy pretends not to see how his body goes tense. 

She hears Susan shout in surprise when Edmund flings himself forward and into Lucy. They come tumbling from the bed onto the floor in front of their siblings. Lucy pays it no mind. She snaps at Edmund with great joy. Her brother flinches away, and Lucy stops her twisting. He's new, she forcefully reminds herself. She noses at Edmund’s shoulder in apology before Peter shoves his head in between them with a huff. Lucy purrs. 

“You’ve all decided to give me yet another headache,” comes Susan’s amused voice from behind Lucy’s head. Lucy twists to look at her sister. Susan is sitting on the floor still, a smile on her face. Lucy shoves at her brothers to get off, Edmund responding with a snapped grunt that she pays no heed to. Careful not to crush Susan, she shifts her weight to cover Susan’s front, licking at her face. 

Susan laughs and pushes at her head. Lucy doesn’t let herself get pushed away. She still delights in the way she can hold her ground now, the lioness steady where her human body is not. She knows Edmund will be just as pleased with this fact. Oh, Edmund! 

She turns her head and sees Peter pinning him, the younger boy snapping at Peter’s face. Well, Lucy concedes, Edmund will be pleased once he’s got the hang of it all.

-

Edmund’s learning curve is a bit of a mess, with him finding himself randomly shifting much more than even Lucy. He learns to manage the pain in a much shorter time but is forced to realise that control is a separate struggle. He leaves his siblings with a very confused looking leopard during official hearings not once, but twice. The court takes it in good humour, and Edmund finds it utterly hilarious once he’s gotten over the humiliation. He and Lucy play-fight with great enthusiasm. Edmund learns not to mind the fact that he is smaller than Lucy and makes a habit of using his climbing skills against her with increasing smugness. Peter reassures a worried Susan and laughs at the grumbled complaints of future mischief between the two younger monarchs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ed's the climber of the family after all :P
> 
> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter).


	4. fierce as a tigress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, so there are some minor descriptions of body horror, aka the process of the transformation, in this chapter. they're brief enough that i haven't changed the rating, but if you think it should go up, please let me know! i also had some struggles editing this, so please feel free to point out mistakes, though I hope grammarly managed to catch them all :P

They are on their way to a council meeting when Susan suddenly stops Peter with an iron grip on his arm. Peter turns to her in confusion but is quick to wrap his arms around her in support. Susan is pale and shakes in his arms. 

“Su? What’s wrong?” 

“I-” Susan’s grip on him turns painful. “It’s-” She presses her face into his shoulder and whimpers. A suspicion comes into Peter’s mind. 

“You’re hurting.” A nod. “Like something wants out?” Another. “Lion’s mane, Su! Let’s get you back to your room immediately. Ed!” 

Edmund peeks around the corner with a smirk, but any remark he was going to make is cut off by Peter. “Susan’s shifting, I’m getting her to her room.” Edmund only nods, eyes wide. 

“We’ll be right there.” Edmund disappears again. Peter turns him and Susan around. 

“Can you walk?” 

Susan shakes her head, tears already making their way down her face. Peter scoops her up into his arms and rushes down the halls towards their bedrooms. His heart hammers against his ribs, excitement warring with the sight of Susan going through the same pain that nearly broke Peter a few months ago.

Arriving at her room, Peter places her down on her bed. Susan’s hand is still twisted into his tunic, her knuckles white against her skin. “It’ll be alright, Su. You’ve seen us go through it, you’re going to be okay.” 

Susan violently shakes her head and tugs until Peter settles on the bed beside her. She curls around him and sobs. “It feels like death,” she cries, and Peter blinks away his own tears. 

“I know it does, but I swear to you it will be alright. We’re gonna be here with you every step of the way.” 

Lucy comes crashing into the room at full speed. “Oh, Susan!” She joins them on the bed, her hands fluttering to find a way to comfort Susan. “Ed’s going to be here soon, we’ll all be here.” 

Susan turns her face away from Peter’s hip and looks up at Lucy. Through the pain, Peter thinks he sees hope. 

“Lu,” Susan starts. “Lu can you- when it starts. Can you shift when I-” 

Lucy’s eyes widen, but she nods eagerly. “Of course. Of course, I can.” 

Susan smiles through her tears. She curls back into Peter. “I need- I need-” She stutters before crying out in pain again. Peter holds her closer. 

“Shh, it’s alright. You don’t need to explain, Su.” Lucy looks at him with bright eyes and smiles. Peter swallows as Susan begins to kick her legs. The door closes, and Peter looks up to see Edmund hastily opening the windows. Edmund settles next to Lucy and puts his hand on Susan’s shoulder. 

“I’m afraid of- of hurting you,” Susan bites out. Peter knows his eyes are wet. He remembers all too well the sheer terror his own transformation had brought with it. He had been terrified of doing the opposite of what he swore he would always do for his siblings. 

“You won’t, Su. Lucy will be right there.” Susan nods. Then she starts tugging at her gown and Peter startles, loosening his grip. 

“Right.” Lucy starts opening the lacing in preparation. Peter takes a moment to look at his siblings. Lucy is barely suppressing her excitement at Susan joining them. Edmund seems worried but is smiling softly through it. 

“Council all know,” Edmund says almost as if he could sense Peter looking at him. Peter shoots him a grateful smile. Susan wriggles between them, and they all give her more space. She is no longer pale but instead growing red with exertion. 

“I do wish the first time wasn’t so horrible,” Lucy says as Susan whimpers. 

“Our bodies aren’t used to it, it makes sense,” Edmund responds, helping Susan kick off her shoes. Peter arranges himself so that Susan is leaning against him as comfortably as the pain will allow her. Susan gives him a smile, and Peter finds himself briefly overwhelmed with pride and admiration for her. Even now, where pain so strong it made Peter’s senses leave him entirely is coursing through her body, she manages to smile.

“You’re doing well,” he says and brushes her hair away from her face. He sees Susan’s grip on Lucy’s hand tighten. Her lips are stained red with blood from where she must have bitten herself. 

Edmund settles his hand on Susan’s shin and pulls back with a noise of surprise. Peter feels Susan’s spine shift against his stomach, and he winces. “Right. Right. Susan, it’s going to be alright. Lucy?” Lucy nods. Peter presses a kiss to Susan’s hair before extracting himself from the bed. “Lucy’s going to shift, Ed,” he adds. Edmund moves away from their sisters. 

“Alright.” 

Peter and Edmund settle on the ground a few feet away from the bed. Just like all the other times, Peter doesn’t look away. He doesn’t quite know why, wishing that he could forget the horrible sight that is his sibling’s body twisting itself into a new shape. But still, as Lucy curls up against a thrashing Susan in her lioness form, he doesn’t look away. 

Susan has a hand on Lucy’s neck. Peter can just see the way her nails are digging in, but Lucy only pushes closer. Susan’s skin shifts as bones begin to break underneath. Peter clenches his jaw and keeps his eyes on his sisters. Inside, he feels his own cat twisting, wanting out. He doesn’t give in.

Susan’s transformation does not take as long as Peter’s or Lucy’s but is not as quick as Edmund’s. Edmund is restless next to Peter, moving his hands back and forth enough that Peter can just see it out of the corner of his eyes. Lucy’s massive head is turned away from the sight of Susan, but her flank is pressed close enough that Peter has no doubt their baby sister can  _ feel  _ it all regardless. Susan screams and cries, and Peter feels his fingernails dig into his palm. He doesn’t look away.

The moment human skin makes way for striped fur, Peter feels himself smile. Noises of human pain are replaced with a deep rumble. Soon, a tiger is curled around Lucy’s lioness. Heavy pants move its chest up and down. Peter grabs Edmund’s twisting hands to still them. 

“Su,” Edmund whispers and Susan’s head pushes up from the mattress. Neither of the boys moves. Lucy meanwhile doesn’t waste time before she twists to press her nose into Susan’s side with a loud huff.

“Can we come closer?” Peter asks. Susan’s eyes flick back and forth between him and Edmund for a while before she tosses her head in a clear ‘no’. Peter smiles. “Okay. We won’t.” 

“We’ll wait,” Edmund agrees. Peter doesn’t miss the strain on his voice. He squeezes Edmund’s hands, and his brother shoots him a quick glance, eyes green instead of brown. The two boys wait as Susan and Lucy nose at each other and slowly, Susan’s breath settles. 

Peter takes the time to strip out of his more elaborate clothes, his chest full of unvoiced growls. Edmund is struggling, breathing heavily. It doesn’t come as a surprise when he shifts into the leopard before Peter is even done taking off his doublet. Peter notes how Susan’s head shoots up eagerly. Edmund leaps onto the bed. Peter laughs as Susan throws herself at him and takes him down on one go. She’s bigger than both Lucy and Edmund. Peter can only imagine how she will use it against them in the future.

But for now, he lets the jaguar out. He tugs a triumphant Susan off the bed and into a tumble. Somehow, the door opens in the time Peter takes to analyse Susan’s new advantages. 

Edmund growls at Peter and Lucy bolts out of the door into the castle halls. Peter lets go of Susan, and his sister shoots after the lioness. Edmund, with a smug look back at Peter, disappears as well. Not one to be outdone, Peter rushes after them out into the summer day. He catches up to his siblings right as Edmund attempts to take down Susan only to end up pinned himself again. Oh yes, Susan will use her size well.

-

It takes Susan a while to become comfortable with shifting. She can’t quite figure out if it’s the mild loss of autonomy or fear of appearing as anything less than presentable to their court. She doesn’t have many random shifts, mastering control the quickest. In turn, she struggles with the pain a bit longer than her siblings, her changes taking more out of her. She muses that random shifts work as forced desensitising to the pain of transformation and says as much to her siblings. She doesn’t mind it much, preferring the iron grip she has on her new form to what Edmund went through.

She has to concede that the feeling of having a bigger, sturdy body than her human form is a freedom she enjoys immensely and learns to take advantage of with glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise! this isn't the final chapter after all! i seem to regularly underestimate the number of chapters my fics should have. 
> 
> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter).


	5. proud as a cat

It’s not uncommon to find the four monarchs of Narnia using their breaks to stretch their feline forms. After a period of adjustment, it merely becomes Cair Paravel’s normalcy to see royal cats chasing each other across the beach. More than once, a tutor goes on a search for their respective student only to find a cuddle pile in the lounge. Few are willing to reprimand a lioness for missing history. Still, Lucy always shows enough regret that they simply learn to fit their schedules around the whims of their royals. Oreius has the unenviable task of retrieving a decidedly not human High King whenever a sudden council is to be held. Let it never be said that a centaur’s stare cannot cow a great cat. 

They never quite master speech, though Susan comes closest of the four of them to get their body to produce the correct sounds. Edmund more than once jokes that their cats would make better figureheads to present to the world than mere children. His siblings are quick to tackle him and smother the idea.

The court, castle staff and Narnians welcome the change of their monarchs with open arms. The people rejoice in Aslan’s blessing upon their majesties. Lucy hears poems and songs written about how the Great Lion’s roar would echo in their chests. It brings tears of pride into her eyes, and she endeavours to sneak her siblings out to hear them as well. Their cat guards train them in making the most use out of their new bodies with great enthusiasm and relentless energy. The nation's spirits soar.

Susan delights in having the tigress as a backup, should her arrows fail her and combat come too close. She remains the biggest of them, even as Lucy grows and almost matches her in size. It gives her security, knowing that should it come down to it she has a large form to fall back on. It also calms the motherly fear for her family, replacing it with confidence instead.

Edmund remains the smallest but doesn’t mind as he excels at climbing in both his forms. He makes a habit of dropping down on his unsuspecting siblings and calling it “battle training” with a wide smile. Despite his jokes, he doesn’t resort to animal tactics in court often but finds enough control to let his teeth flash. Anything more would be cheating, he insists.

Peter diligently trains with his cat guards and soldiers and quickly figures out how to use his feline form as a battle advantage should he be disarmed. He finds that even in his human body, his words start swinging with a growl deep enough to rattle Narnia’s opponents in battle and council alike. His siblings take great joy in his embarrassment when they point it out.

Lucy uses her lioness status to finally get into fight training. Her siblings are out of arguments, her shift even a reason to let her train early. She modifies her cordial belt so that it won’t get ripped and drop the bottle; focuses on how to get others to safety as much as she does on her fighting. It gets easier to feel valiant with the lioness inside.

Rumours spread through the near world quickly. Edmund mourns the possibility of surprising their adversaries, but Susan dismisses it fast enough. After all, rumour can be waved away by those that stupidly wish to harm Narnia. Lucy smiles and proudly tells them that nobody will be able to deny it should they ever set eyes on the four. Peter doesn’t say anything, but the rumble he gives off makes his siblings laugh. No, nobody would be able to deny what they are, what they can do. And none of them ever bother to lie about the fact that they greatly enjoy being feared for once. Their cats give them a path to respect that many leaders refuse to give to children. They have no shame in taking advantage of the gift. Nobody that ever sets foot in Narnian lands would be able to say that her rulers are not blessed, whether they cite Aslan or other magics.

And so, Narnia is governed by four sibling sovereigns with hidden fangs and claws. She is ruled graciously, fiercely; defended with growls and roars. And through it all, Narnia thrives.

-

They tumble through the wardrobe, and it feels like a prison cell slamming shut. Adult minds and animal sides are forced into a single body too small for it all, shoved down and locked away. It almost destroys them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there we have it, the last chapter! but fret not, i have too much love for this au and still a few scraps that i want to post :P so this is now a series! i hope you've enjoyed this introduction into my au as much as i enjoyed creating it all. thank you all so much for giving it a chance! if you wish to chat with me, i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter). tumblr might also become the place for me to post scraps too short/unfitting for ao3, found myself doing precisely that just yesterday. ;)


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